How Do I Manually Enter Step Number?

[ABQ505Hiker]

How do I enter the number of steps I took without my Fitbit?  

Moderator Edit: Updated Subject for Clarity

[WendyB · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the forum!

Computer. Go to the activity screen and scroll to the bottom. You will see a walking icon. Use that to add steps

Phone: Tap on exercise tile. Tap on card looking thing upper corner. Search for walking and then add it.

Just be aware that any manually added steps will not go towards Badges or challenges.

Hope to see you around the forums! Join in on the discussions forums!

[ABQ505Hiker]

I found it.  "Steps" are hidden, as a measure of distance.  

[SantiR]

@ABQ505Hiker I hope you're doing well! I'm really glad to see that you found some great help and solutions here at the Fitbit forums! Thanks for marking the helpful post as an accepted solution. This will definitely help other users who might be looking for the same information. 

Also, take a look at the Discussions Board as you will find a lot of interesting things there. Feel free to post on any thread you want. If you are looking for Fitbit friends to compete with on challenges, check this thread to add some! 

@WendyB Thank you very much for sharing your help and experience on this thread.

Keep me posted! 

[PureEvil]

@ABQ505Hiker,

Actually, they're not hidden; they're just not the default.  If you click on the units, you can change to steps:

I hope this helps.

[SantiR]

@PureEvil I hope you're doing well! Thanks for sharing your experience on this thread and for the clarification. Also, thank you so much for sharing the screen shot.

I'm sure a lot of users will find this useful. Specially since there is a screen shot showing the feature very clearly. I appreciate that!

See you around! 

[DraftyBarn]

What is the activity screen? I am on my dashboard using the app on my Windows 10 laptop, and I have "Today - steps", Goals, Badges, Weight and what I have eaten. None of these take me anywhere to "Log Activity" as shown in the screenshot posted in this thread. I can get to "Log Exercise" but that gives me no option to add steps.

Why must this be so difficult? I have spent an hour combing the forums, Googling how to add steps manually, etc. I don't have the screens available that everyone points to for entering this stuff.

[WendyB]

@DraftyBarn  Look at the top of your screen you will see this. Click on log and then you will activites

[DraftyBarn]

Sorry I wasn't clear enough in my post and thanks for being condescending in your answer. After another hour or so of fighting the WINDOWS/MICROSOFT APP, which looks nothing like your screenshot - I had to discover myself that everyone was talking about the dashboard on the Fitbit WEBSITE. Which took me 3 minutes to do what I needed.

But, rest assured - the Microsoft APP for Fitbit that downloaded for my Windows 10 Computer is an absolute NIGHTMARE. There is NO "Log" functionality (or it is hidden so well as to never be found) in the Microsft/Windows 10 APP.

Glad to figure out that it's always best to go old school and just go directly to the website through a browser.

[PureEvil]

@DraftyBarn,

First, as you pointed out you were looking on the Fitbit app, and @WendyB posted instruction for the Fitbit website and for the Fitbit App (if you look at her post from 10-11-2018).  We're not mind readers and have no way of knowing how you're trying to do this; a screenshot of what you're seeing would help us narrow it down.

Second, I see nothing about her post that I would consider condescending.  I see this on the forum on occasion...

If a post mentions something you don't know, (rhetorical) you read it as condescending because you interpret it as 'you think I'm stupid for not knowing this...'

If a post mentions something you know, (rhetorical) you read it as condescending because you interpret it as 'you think I'm stupid because you're pointing out something so simple...'

So no matter what we say, it's condescending.  At least entertain the idea that it's less about what she said on the post and more about how you're choosing to read it.

Finally, Wendy already gave you the answer on her first post (though she listed it as the phone):

Phone: Tap on exercise tile.

Tap on card looking thing upper corner (it has changed).

Search for walking and then add it.

Yes, it works on the Windows 10 Fitbit App (though it doesn't allow you to list steps as units).  It's literally three mouse clicks from launching the Fitbit App.  While I can understand what it may not be immediately obvious to everyone, I find it very difficult to believe that if you putter through the app for 'another hour or so' you would not have found it.

And since you didn't follow Wendy's initial instructions on the Fitbit app, I added screenshots.  No... it was not meant to be condescending.  I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I hope this helps.

[PureEvil]

@DraftyBarn,

As for this observation:

"But, rest assured - the Microsoft APP for Fitbit that downloaded for my Windows 10 Computer is an absolute NIGHTMARE. There is NO "Log" functionality (or it is hidden so well as to never be found) in the Microsft/Windows 10 APP."

In addition you can, right click on the Fitbit app on your taskbar and get this:

So you get a wide range of log options for different things to track.  While there are a handful of things that are missing from the Fitbit app (like 12/24 hour setting), the vast majority of what you can do on the website you may do with the app.  Yes, you may need to get to it differently, but it's likely there.

I hope this helps.

[DraftyBarn]

In the app for Microsoft/Windows 10, you cannot add STEPS, you can only add a time for an activity (ie: '1/2 hour walking' as opposed to '1000 steps'). It was quite obvious in my first post that I was using the Windows 10/Microsoft app and trying to ADD STEPS and that there was no way to that.

And, none of the previous answers were clear as to the fact that they were referring to the FITBIT WEBSITE or APP probably available on a smart phone, not the Windows10/Microsoft App I referenced in my original question.

So, I still think the Windows/Microsoft APP is less than intuitive and is lacking in functionality. And, I will not be using it - I will go onto the website directly and use that.

And, Wendy explained the Fitbit website, and a phone app, but not the Windows 10/Microsoft app which we can see now is different and does not share the same functions. You'll also note that she edited her post to me after I responded, and she erased her last comment which implied that it was obvious and that I was unable to comprehend what she was saying. So, rewriting history makes me look overreactive when she was condescending to me. But, no matter.

That is, until I replace my Fitbit Zip with an Apple watch or other brand tracker as this entire exchange has been quite off putting. And, I have had this Zip for 5 years, and bought several for family. They were smarter than me though, and replace the Fitbits with other brand trackers sooner.

Thanks for taking so much time out of your day to drag this up, when it was solved. I could not complete adding STEPS directly in the Windows 10/Microsoft app, as that is not available, but I can do that by using the Fitbit website (and seemingly a smart phone app, of which I do not have access).

[PureEvil]

@DraftyBarn,

Yes, you cannot add your distance as steps.  I did, in fact, point that out on my post:

"Yes, it works on the Windows 10 Fitbit App (though it doesn't allow you to list steps as units)."

Though I did modify the post, I did not change that part of it.  Though you're right, you did point out that you found the 'Log exercise', for that I will admit that I should've read more carefully.  Attaching a screen shot of what you're seeing would help us understand easier.

For whatever it's worth, entering in either website or app you'll get duration.  The subtle difference is that on the website you get an option for distance as miles, kilometers or steps.  On the app you only get miles or kilometers.  You can enter distance in miles (or kilometers) and the app will enter a step count for you and you can adjust the entry.

I know that for my stride length, 1 mile is roughly 2200 steps, so I could just enter it that way.

There are subtle differences between the app and the website.  There are advantages to each.  You have some preferences about the website; fair assessments... but you can't participate in challenges from the website...  nor can you get progress notifications from the website... nor can you sync your Fitbit from the website...  etc.

The Windows 10 app is effectively the same as the phone app (on Windows).  The two very subtle differences:

• The Windows 10 app has an option to sync through a dongle
• The Windows 10 app does not have an option for mobile run (you wouldn't run carrying your computer to track the GPS)

...but otherwise the UI is identical.

You shouldn't allow posters on the forum to sour you on a brand entirely...

Naturally you may move to another brand.  If you don't have access to a smartphone app, doesn't that mean that you don't have access to a smartphone?  I guess you could move to an Apple Watch, but $750 (for phone) + $280 (for watch) seems a bit excessive because you found our exchange to be 'quite off putting'.

You may move to yet a different brand, but I think most other devices require a smartphone to sync.